Restaurant Inspections: Fairfax City's Cleanest Restaurant

In Virginia, restaurant inspection reports aren't quite as simple as getting a letter grade or an easy-to-see number rating to post in the front window.

That said, we all want to know how our favorite restaurants stack up on cleanliness and sanitation.

Earlier this month, two restaurants — American Bistro & Coffeehouse and Al-Maza — passed the inspection without any violations.

In fact, the department has never found a violation at Al-Maza since it was first inspected in 2010.

In Fairfax City, inspectors from the Virginia Department of Health grade restaurants based on critical and non-critical violations.

A "critical violation" is one that "poses a direct or immediate threat to the safety of the food being served." Non-critical violations are generally related to cleaning or maintenance.

• Learn more about the differences between critical and a non-critical violations here, as well as the differences between types of inspections.

"Ideally, an operation would have no critical violations, or none which are not corrected immediately and not repeated. In our experience, it is unrealistic to expect that a complex, full-service food operation can routinely avoid any violations," according to Virginia Department of Health's website.

The site continues: "Keep in mind that any inspection report is a 'snapshot' of the day and time of the inspection. On any given day, a restaurant could have fewer or more violations than noted in the report. An inspection conducted on any given day may not be representative of the overall, long term cleanliness of an establishment."

The full reports can be accessed on the health department's website.